Can Filter Group

Closing in on three decades ago, we created a design for a canister style filter that was suited for high airflows and unsurpassed air filtering efficiency. Portability and what seemed like everlasting life were also key features of this new filters success. We named it the original, “Can-Filter” for simplicity and accuracy and it did just what its name implied; the Can-Filter really can filter!

The filter was great on its own but what took us over the top was pairing it with the fan, the necessary companion for a complete filtration system.  We partnered early on with a German manufacturer to bring you the timeless classic Can-Fan and the instant hit, fan of the future, Max-Fan.  Focusing on performance and efficiency have helped to establish us as an industry leader in filtration and ventilation.

Soon everyone from mines to military, gardeners to garbage dumps, and locker rooms to laboratories were utilizing the contaminant capturing features of the Can-Filter to create safer workplaces, contaminant-specific filtration, and cleaner air for anyone lucky enough to be in a room that a Can-Filter commanded.

Now with global manufacturing sites and distribution centers on three continents, millions of filters selling in over 40 countries, we’ve built a brand that stands above and outlasts all the competition and that brand is Can-Filters.

Breathing clean air drives us to the highest levels of quality and innovation achievable. We began our mission from a perceived gap we saw, drove forward and never went back.

We’ve set the bar for air ventilation standards that others try to match. But they can’t catch us because we set the bar and continue raising it higher.

We consistently strive to create filters that scrub the air better and last longer, removing up to 99.9% of gasses and VOCs from the air. We work to make our fans more powerful, lighter and stronger; all while consuming less power.

And you know what else? We have a great time doing this stuff together. Our company is shaped by a combination of the highest quality standards with a love and a passion for our work. This gets us going each morning, keeps us working hard, and is one reason why many of us have been together with CF Group for well over a decade.

CF Group Mission

CF Group delivers the highest quality filters, fans and accessories to the North American market. We rely on our innovation, research, and world-class alliances with strategic partners to provide our clients and customers with the most reliable, consistent, and highest quality products on the market.

We ask you not to accept a substitute. Go with the best and breathe a bit easier.

Our Values

• Innovation and research
• Quality manufacturing
• Responsible sourcing of materials
• Long term approach to business
• Excellent customer service
• Seamless distribution
• Reliability
• Durability
• Loyalty

When you choose your filtration system, we hope you’ll go with the industry leaders — Can-Filters. We’ve spent years researching and perfecting the product so that we are now known as the first and best choice in indoor air quality.

You Can Count on Us

Finding you the best solutions before you need them is one reason we are the industry leader. Our packed bed design set the standard for future innovation in carbon filters. Combined with our virgin activated carbon; we have set the bar higher than ever for quality, long life, consistency, and low pressure drop. When you need a contaminant-free environment, come to us. When we’re in your room, you won’t even know we’re there! Quiet, comfortable, and odorless. Just the way you need us to be.

We responsibly source our products from around the world, finding the absolute best quality wherever it is. Staff members are multilingual and highly skilled in finding the best products at the best price. We then use these products to manufacture our filters here in North America, to the highest standards of manufacturing quality. From our distribution centers in North America, South America, and Europe, we send our product to the shops on a regular basis to distributors and retailers around the world. Reliable, consistent quality. You can count on us.

Why Can-Filters?

First, why carbon filters?

Activated carbon filters have been proven an effective tool for air filtration, removing a variety of VOCs (volatile organic compounds), odors, and other gaseous contaminants. They work by a process known as adsorption where VOCs, odors, and other gaseous contaminants adhere to the carbon’s surface. Can-Filters uses only the highest grade and responsibly sourced carbons.

Can-Filters uses only the highest grade and responsibly sourced carbons.

vs. Other Carbon Filters

Can-Filters uses the highest grade carbon carrying the highest CTC (First, why carbon filters? Activated carbon filters have been proven an effective tool for air filtration, removing a variety of VOCs (volatile organic compounds), odors, and other gaseous contaminants. They work by a process known as adsorption where VOCs, odors, and other gaseous contaminants adhere to the carbon’s surface. We also manufacture the LARGEST and smallest filter sizes allowing for the widest range of versatility in your system design right here in North America.

We also have the most experience with nearly three decades of filter production under our belt, simply put, we’ve been at this longer than any of our competitors.

vs. Ultraviolet (UV)

Will also destroy non-UV stabilized plastics (your stuff) and according to the United Sates EPA should be applied with but not as a replacement for filtration systems.

vs. Ozone (O3)

Ozone destroys the molecules, reactions from this can create new or worse contaminants. They are more commonly referred to as pollutants than cleaners and increase human cardiopulmonary health risks. Ozone is considered a toxic gas by the United States EPA.

vs. HEPA

HEPA stands for High-Efficiency Particulate Air. These are excellent, although highly restrictive particulate filters but will not capture VOCs, odors, or other gaseous contaminants, they collect particulate only (dust, pollen, etc).

vs. Odor Neutralizing Agents (ONA)

Neutralizers work by permanently binding to the contaminant/VOC (odor molecule) and masking it. Sprays or gels released into the environment may end up bonding to unwanted places and introduce a chemical that may be considered a contaminant into the environment. With carbon, nothing is introduced to the environment but instead, the environment is introduced to the carbon.

Determining your Requirements

First off, you’ll want to determine the requirements of your application.  Whether or not you are exhausting (going from a contaminated environment to a sterile environment in only a single pass through the filter) or recirculating, aka “scrubbing” (exhausting the system back into the contaminated space).

This is important because in an exhaust setting the air only passes through the filter one time so it is imperative that we remove as close to 100% of the contaminate as possible with that one chance. This requires that the contaminant have a certain time in contact with the carbon in order to be fully adsorbed.  Our filters are marked with both exhaust and recirculating ratings for just this reason.  If you are using this system to exhaust, DO NOT exceed the exhaust rating for the filter, the more this rating is exceeded the less contaminant will be adsorbed because the two will not have enough contact timefor adsorption to fully take place.

In a recirculating system, the contact time is not such a crucial number as we are taking contaminated air, filtering it, and releasing it back into what is typically and constantly decontaminated environment.  It is for this reason that it is not necessary to remove 100% of the contaminant in a single pass.  Instead we double the exhaust rating which will reduce the contact time, the goal here is to still remove a large portion of the contaminant but to get raise the cycle rate of air through the filter above the rate of emission from the source.  Now, instead of removing 99.9% of the contaminant in a single pass we are getting closer to 60% but we are getting twice as many cycles through the filter in the same amount of time and over time, reducing the overall build-up of contaminant in the environment.  This is ok because we are not exhausting into a sterile space but instead to a space that is already more contaminated, after the system has run for a few hours, you will notice that the build-up of contaminant has been reduced to only the constant emission.

Recirculating systems can be desirable when atmospheric adjustments have been made to the environment such as the addition of air conditioning or CO2 which exhausting outside can be less efficient and more expensive than leaving the front door open.  Recirculating systems are intended to be used in sealed rooms.

Sizing Your Space

Once you’ve determined the type of system you need, it’s time to size your space.

Typically for exhaust we recommend a simple length x width x height /3 calculation.  This will give you the amount of air (cubic feet per minute, CFM) that you will need to move to properly ventilate your space allowing for a three-minute air exchange (all the air in the space is exchanged for fresh air every three minutes).  This is the number you will match your filter to.

Example:
Room size: 10’x12’x8’ (960 cubic feet)
960 cubic feet / 3 minutes = 320CFM (Minimum recommended CFM to exchange the air every 3 minutes)

For recirculating systems, you can use the same length x width x height but divide by 1.5.  This will give you a high cycle rate while still ensuring the removal of a majority of contaminant with each pass through the filter.

Great, now that you know which filter to use its time to find the fan to pair with it.  Take that CFM target used to find your filter and match it with the closest fan rating.  It is wise to factor in a 10% -25% drop in airflow due to the resistance of pulling through the carbon filter.  Just remember, if you are running an exhaust system, DO NOT choose a fan that will exceed the exhaust rating of your filter.

Can I push or pull through the filter?